On January 26 at approximately 10:00 pm, a Drew County Sheriff Deputy was dispatched to Highway 138 about four miles east of Monticello to a one-vehicle accident. When the deputy arrived he found a white Toyota Corolla lying on its driver side as well as several beer cans around the accident scene. When the driver, Heather D. Faulkner, 33 of Monticello, was asked if she had anything to drink, she said that she had been drinking earlier and that she had been drinking a beer right before she lost control of her vehicle. The deputy also noted that Faulkner’s speech was slurred and her eyes were extremely bloodshot and watery.

After failing her field sobriety tests and registering a .17 on the breathalyzer, Faulkner was arrested and transported to the Drew County Detention Facility where she was charged with driving while intoxicated, failure to maintain control of a vehicle, fictitious tags, expired driver license, no proof of insurance, and unauthorized use of a vehicle. She was released on her own recognizance on January 27.